Bangladesh court acquits Khaleda Zia in 10 year-old sabotage case

A court in Bangladesh acquitted BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia on Wednesday in a sabotage case filed in the southeastern Cumilla district 10 years ago.

Additional District and Session Judge Court-2 of Cumilla Afroza Jesmin passed the order as there was no evidence against 79-year-old Zia, who is now undergoing treatment in London, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

The court observed that the case was filed on political grounds and harassment, the agency said.

The case was filed against 32 people, including Zia, in the Special Powers Act, 1974, at Chouddagram Police Station in Cumilla in connection with damaging and setting fire to a covered van during a strike on January 25, 2015. Zia was the 32nd accused in the case.

No specific evidence was found against Zia and she has been acquitted, Public Prosecutor Kaimul Haque Rinku was quoted as saying by bdnews24 news portal.

He added that 32 people were named in the FIR, but 42 people were charged afterwards. Of them, 36 people have been removed from the case. The decision on six others will be taken later as they received a suspension order in favour of them in the case.

Last week, the Supreme Court acquitted Zia, her party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and all other suspects in their appeal over the Orphanage Trust graft case, overturning the High Court's earlier 10-year prison sentence.

She was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under the rule of her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina.

Zia had been imprisoned for more than two years. On March 25, 2020, the Hasina government suspended her sentence and granted her conditional release through an executive order. Subsequently, the government extended her sentence suspension and release period every six months, upon application.

She appeared in public on November 21, 2024, at Dhaka Cantonment to join Bangladesh's Armed Forces Day reception at the invitation of the Chief Adviser of the interim government Muhammad Yunus.

Zia is ailing and travelled to London earlier this month for medical treatment.

She served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006.